Balin Banks has made 102 posts and is from and is not online.
Posted Monday 27th September 2010 (11:04pm)

I have had nothing to do with the dispute, nor most Australians. It appears to be a small group of leaders in a joint Oz-NZ union. Though if an Australian union is bullying a NZ union, then that's not very nice, precious. As to the movie at risk of moving to Europe, I would imagine it would be more expensive to make there (though the scenery might be actually more LotRingish!) It is a complicated matter by the sounds of it. PJ is being a Spin Doctor for some reason. Are (some?) NZ Actors in a union or not? I shall be watching this debate very closely! Though I might dip my toe in the debate by asking: Isn't moviemaking (at PJ's level) a profit making business, and so a legitimate area where individual workers (actors in this case) can act collectively with a view to not being bullied or disadvantaged (or ripped off) by rich Robber Barons? Oz and NZ are like brothers - we're the ANZACs for God's sake. Of course, we must fight together against tyranny (real or percieved!)

Balin Banks has made 102 posts and is from and is not online.
Posted Monday 27th September 2010 (11:10pm)

An interesting aspect has occurred to me. PJ is a New Zealander who has made huge profits using his home country (where costs are not too high) and his countrymen/women as workers (not too expensive workers), all the time being financed by huge powerful America - where the huge bulk of profits go. America is sucking up the juices of yet another country again - indeed, in a sense becoming rulers (Robber Barons?) over the country. I shall henceforth call PJ "Quisling" I think!

Balin Banks has made 102 posts and is from and is not online.
Posted Tuesday 28th September 2010 (01:50am)

This is the problem with being anything. I don't like ideologues and I am slightly dubious of anyone identifying themselves as a devotee of some "ism", no matter the brand, religious or purely political. Just because PJ says Unions are wrong, does not mean they're wrong. Btw I'm not taking sides yet - I don't know enough about the issues. I just don't want to jump on the PJ bandwagon and say: "Ooh those bad Australian Unionists!" just because PJ is PJ and that means everything he says is correct. It is a complicated issue. As a former Union shop steward, I know these disputes are never as straight forward as one might think. But being a former shop steward, does not mean immediately that unions are always right. Clear thinking, mate. Let's listen and learn and then make our judgments on that basis.
[quote="Grey Pilgrim":1g0kffje]Odo the Conservative-Communist. Do you take anything seriously?[/quote:1g0kffje]
Who is the smart-arse here?

Eldorion has made 2119 posts and is a Rohirrim from Edoras and is not online.
Posted Tuesday 28th September 2010 (06:09am)

[quote="Balin Banks":13y18hek]It appears to be a small group of leaders in a joint Oz-NZ union. Though if an Australian union is bullying a NZ union, then that's not very nice, precious.[/quote:13y18hek]
The Australian union seems to be moving to have closer ties to the NZ union, though the NZ one represents only a portion of NZ actors. I think the "bullying" claim is with regards to non-unionized actors.
TORn is - surprisingly - light on rage and anger, but full of very dry legal discussion that I can't really comment on. It's interesting to see how many LOTR actors are coming out in support of this though (Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, and Karl Urban so far that I know of).

Balin Banks has made 102 posts and is from and is not online.
Posted Tuesday 28th September 2010 (01:18pm)

[quote="Eldorion":2s1dzvzx]It's interesting to see how many LOTR actors are coming out in support of this though (Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, and Karl Urban so far that I know of).[/quote:2s1dzvzx]
They're good people this group. If they're asking for fairness, maybe they've got a point.

Gandalfs Beard has made 2311 posts and is an Elf from Rivendell and is not online.
Posted Friday 1st October 2010 (06:20pm)

As well the actors should come out in support of this. I want to see Jackson make these films more than anyone on this forum. But if he can't be a Hero, and accept the Quest to give NZ actors parity with their Hollywood counterparts, then forget it.
He's the BIGGEST FREAKIN' KIWI DIRECTOR ON THE PLANET. Only He can go to Mt Doom and lobby NZ to change the Law.
[b:1on5m6bw]GB[/b:1on5m6bw]

Gandalfs Beard has made 2311 posts and is an Elf from Rivendell and is not online.
Posted Friday 1st October 2010 (07:09pm)

I meant more the Purists , who seem to be a majority on this forum (not you Ringdrotten ).
Though maybe they just seem like a majority because they post a lot and are very vocal.
[b:3h5tbs4q]GB[/b:3h5tbs4q]

Eldorion has made 2119 posts and is a Rohirrim from Edoras and is not online.
Posted Saturday 2nd October 2010 (01:30am)

[quote="Gandalfs Beard":3cj16l8l]Though maybe they just seem like a majority because they post a lot and are very vocal. [/quote:3cj16l8l]
As far as I know, Petty and myself are vocal purists; while you, Ringdrotten, and Grey Pilgrim are not. Odo pretends to be a purist but I think he leans more to your side in truth. I'm not sure how many other people have weighed in on the debate regularly, but I think most people tend to be more forgiving of PJ....

Eldorion has made 2119 posts and is a Rohirrim from Edoras and is not online.
Posted Monday 4th October 2010 (11:17pm)

Uh ... hate to burst your bubble, but more often than not anonymous "sources close to the project" either don't exist or just make their information up. There's a chance that this one is the one that's right, but more likely either the source or the reporter just wants attention and pageviews.

Ringdrotten has made 389 posts and is a Hobbit from Hobbiton and is not online.
Posted Monday 4th October 2010 (11:34pm)

Hehe, I'm quite aware of the fact that most Hobbit rumors are.. rumors Still, there has been a lot of real stuff about lately, so I'm hoping this one's real too
If it's not real, well, happy birthday again, Petty

Eldorion has made 2119 posts and is a Rohirrim from Edoras and is not online.
Posted Tuesday 5th October 2010 (12:19am)

It [i:2ijm1ums]is[/i:2ijm1ums] intriguing that all these rumours are piling up and pointing to an announcement soon, but even that has happened before. It's possible I've become so cynical that I dismiss even real news, though.

Odo Banks has made 1883 posts and is a Hobbit from Hobbiton and is not online.
Posted Tuesday 5th October 2010 (12:24am)

((((Mmm...?
Which rumour should I start next?
The Elves sing "Tra la lally down in the valley." Nah! Too Purist.
What about they put the White Council? Nah! Too Liberal.
How about: "Muslim Terrorist Plot to Kill PJ"? Ahhhh! Just right!.... ))))

Pettytyrant101 has made 1383 posts and is a Hobbit from Buckland and is not online.
Posted Tuesday 5th October 2010 (12:44am)

With greater age comes greater prospects for grumbling about PJ.
If he could have some self control he might be able to pull it off- but we know he won't it'll be explosions and 3D gimmickry and super hero Bilbo hacking his way through the plot in much the same way the Coven will have hacked through Tolkien's story for their 'script'.
PJ to direct? Tolkiens Hobbit is dead, long live PJ's Hobbit!!!!!
(I'm old enough, I could just leap off something high now. It'd save myself the trouble of doing it later after I've had to watch the thing).

Noom Chevaline has made 314 posts and is from and is not online.
Posted Thursday 7th October 2010 (03:11pm)

My wife mentioned this to me and I had to search for it on line as I never saw a mention of it here:http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/scotland-bids-to-be-middle-earth-for-the-hobbit-1.1059293
I have not been online for a bit as I have been out of town working with horses on a farm for a few days, I am home for today and tomorrow and then am off to look after some horses for a few days for a friend.

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